Portable writing appliance



Nov. 22, 1960 J. R. cARR 2,961,257

PORTABLE WRITING APPLIANCE Filed Nov. 25. 1957 Jane/l R. Carr INVENTOR.

United States Patent PORTABLE WRITING APPLIANCE Jewell R. Carr, 3516 Clarks River Road, Paducah, Ky.;

Clara Paris Carr, administratrix of Jewell R. Carr, assignor to herself Filed Nov. 25, '1957, Ser. No. 698,486

1 Claim. (Cl. 281-44) This invention relates to an appliance for facilitating transactions at a bank or other institution where there is an exchange of funds, memos, checks or other written material.

An object of the invention is to provide an appliance which has principal application in the facilitating of bank transactions where the depositor remains in his motor vehicle while doing his part of the transaction. The invention provides the depositor or other customer with a desk, a pen and other supplies directly in the automobile and right at the customers finger tips.

Some difliculty is experienced in filling out the necessary forms in drive-in banks or other establishments having drive-in service. My invention solves this difiiculty by a self-contained appliance having all of the necessary appurtenances for the entire transactions.

A more particular object of the invention is to provide an appliance which has storage room for papers, for example deposit slips, in addition to a surface on which to write. The surface has means for temporarily supporting one or more slips and a pin so that the slips, while supported, can be filled out. The entire appliance is portable so that it can be placed in the motor vehicle of the customer while he properly completes the forms. Then, with the forms fastened by a sheet material fastening means, the whole device may be handed back to the bank.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of an appliance constructed in accordance with the invention.

Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 44 of Figure 1.

In the accompanying drawings there is shown an appliance which is constructed in such a manner as to demonstrate the principles of the invention. The appliance has a base 12 including a bottom wall 14, shallow side walls 16 and 18, and shallow end walls 20 and 22. These shallow walls cooperate with the bottom 14 to form an open receptacle within which to store various sheets of paper 24 which may be deposit slips or other forms generally used in the transaction of the banking business. When the appliance is adapted for other types of business, the forms will be substituted by appropriate forms or materials.

One shallow wall 18 has an integral extension 26 on which top wall 28 is fixed. The top wall forms a writing surface and is preferably flat and parallel to bottom wall 14. This leaves a wide entrance between the wall 28 and the upper edges of the walls 16, 20 and 22 through which to insert various papers. Hinge 30 which is preferably a piano hinge, is attached to the upper edge portion of extension 26 and is also attached to a holder 32. This holder is in the form of an angle bar having an upstanding wall 34 and a horizantal wall 36 joined at right angles thereto. The horizontal wall overlies an edge portion of the top 28 and cooperates therewith to form a clamp within which to support papers. Laterally extending plate 38 is attached to wall 36 and overlies an end portion of top wall 28. This, too, coacts with the top surface of wall 28 to form a clamp within which to support papers while they are being used.

A writing implement, preferably a ballpoint pen 40, is attached to a chain 42 and separably fastened to the clamp 32 by means of a spring clip 44. This spring clip is carried by the clamp 32 at the juncture of the two walls 34 and 36 thereof and prevents the pen from becoming inadvertently separated therefrom. Chain 42 extends through an opening 46 in case 48. The case has a reel 50 in it on which the chain 42 is wound. Torsion spring 52 is attached to a central stud 54 in case 48 and is also attached to reel 50 in order to apply a spring bias to the reel in such direction as to tend to continually rewind the chain 42. A latch having a release button 56 is operatively connected to a ratchet wheel (not shown) on the reel 50 to release the reel and enable the spring 52 to rewind the chain 42 thereon after the ballpoint pen has been pulled out, used by the customer and is ready for return to its spring clip 44.

In use the appliance 10 is removed by the customer from a drive-in window hopper and the forms filled out or whatever other business is necessary, is transacted with the aid of my appliance. Then the entire appliance with its supplies, is returned.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. In a portable writing appliance, the combination of a rectangular tray-shaped base including three relatively low side walls and a fourth relatively high side wall projecting upwardly beyond upper edges or" the low walls, a top wall having a pair of side edges and a pair of end edges and rigidly secured along one of its side edges to the upper edge of said high side wall, said top wall affording a fiat writing surface thereon, and means for clamping paper on said writing surface comprising a hinge including a pair of leaves and a hinge pin connecting the same together, one leaf of said hinge being secured to the outer surface of the upper edge portion of said high side wall with said hinge pin disposed at the level of said writing surface, an elongated clamping member of an L-shaped cross section having a vertical flange secured to the other leaf of said hinge and a horizontal flange resting on the adjacent side edge portion of said top wall, and a plate-shaped lateral extension provided at one end of the horizontal flange of said member in coplanar relation therewith and resting on one end edge portion of said top wall, whereby to coact with said horizontal flange in clamping one side edge portion and one end edge portion of a sheet of paper on said writing surface while leaving the remainder of the stated sheet exposed.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

